A survey suggests that almost half of B.C. businesses are “dissatisfied” with how the provincial government is responding to tariffs and a lack of clear direction from the government.
Ninety per cent of respondents said the province should remove interprovincial trade barriers as a way to reduce reliance on the U.S, according to a survey run by the Business Improvement Areas of British Columbia (BIABC) in November 2025.
“Businesses continue to wait for a long-promised tariff-response strategy that has yet to be released, reads a BIABC press release. “Many businesses continue to report challenges related to sourcing, rising costs, and ongoing supply-chain uncertainty.”
“We acknowledge the province has signed some narrow-focused agreements — however, broad arrangements that encourage free trade and standardized processes across borders remain elusive.”
In November 2025, B.C. signed the Canadian Mutual Recognition Agreement, which means that if a business’s goods meet the requirements in B.C., it no longer faces “additional testing, certification or other approvals before it can be sold across the country.”
Before this agreement took effect, Canadian businesses had to search through the “thousands of rules” to find out what requirements their products needed to meet before they could be sold in a different jurisdiction.
BIABC noted that this agreement “could be especially valuable” for small businesses that don’t have the administrative resources of larger companies.
“While the agreement is a positive step, BIABC will be watching closely to ensure it lives up to its potential.”
Another issue BIABC found in the survey is that 85 per cent of its respondents employ less than 10 people, meaning they aren’t eligible for federal tariff-response programs. It also makes it much more challenging for them to apply for support programs.
“BIABC says this makes it essential that any provincial response be simple, accessible, and designed with small operators in mind.”
BIABC surveyed 260 businesses across the province.